glance

to strike a surface obliquely and go off at an angle: usually with off

to make an indirect or passing reference: with over, at, etc.

to flash or gleam

to look suddenly and briefly; take a quick look

Origin of glance

Middle English glansen, glenchen, probably a blend ; from Old French glacier, to slip (see glacis) + guenchir, to elude ; from Frankish an unverified form wenkjan, to totter; akin to Old English wancol, unstable

transitive verb

to cause (an object) to strike a surface at an angle and be deflected

noun

a glancing off; deflected impact

a flash or gleam

a quick look

noun

any of various ores with a metallic luster: now applied to only a few metallic ores, such as silver glance ( argentite) and lead glance ( galena)

From Middle English glacen (“to graze, strike a glancing blow”), from Old French glacier (“to slip, make slippery”). Sense of "look quickly" (first recorded 1580s) probably was influenced in form and meaning by Middle English glenten (“to look askance”). See glint.

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You men do not understand the delights of a glance, of a pressure of the hand... but as for me, I swear to you that, when I listen to your voice, I feel such a deep, strange bliss that the most passionate kisses could not take its place. Mikhail Lermontov